A MUM-TO-BE was left stranded abroad after Ryanair mixed up her family's flight home.
Tia Watson, 24, said her trip to sunny Fuerteventura should have been a dream holiday – but Storm Eunice turned it into a "nightmare".
Tia had flown out to the second largest of Spain’s Canary Islands on February 14 and had been due to return home to Kimberly, Nottinghamshire, five days later.
But while approaching Manchester Airport during 122mph gales, it was deemed too dangerous to land so the plane was diverted to Bordeaux in the south of France.
Tia, who is 23 weeks pregnant, along with her partner Martin and their four-year-old daughter, were put up in a hotel and told they would be on the next flight home the following evening.
But they woke up to discover they had been given the wrong departure time and they had missed the flight.
Tia said: "We received a text on Friday night to say 'we apologise for your overnight delay, your new flight time will be 7.40pm on Saturday evening local time'.
"So obviously we went to sleep and said 'we're not going to set an alarm or anything' as we thought the flight was half-seven at night.
"We got to breakfast at the hotel and there was literally no one from our flight.
"We thought this was really weird because the flight we were on was full and there were hundreds of people in our hotel.
"Then reception told us that they all got picked up on free coaches this morning."
'VERY STRESSFUL'
Tia said they assumed that they had been given the wrong flight time and spent "all day" on the phone to Ryanair to find out what was going on.
But call-handlers told them not to worry as "we can see that your flight is still at 7.40pm so just get to the airport normal time and your flight will be there", she said.
However, when they got to Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport they realised there was no such flight on the departures board.
So they checked with a Ryanair delegate – only to be told there were no more flights to England that day on February 19.
Instead, they were told their flight home had been at 10am and they had missed it.
Tia said: "After being on the phone for hours all day, getting to the airport with a four-year-old, I'm pregnant myself and obviously it's very, very stressful.
"Then they said there's a flight [on February 20] so they want us to lug all of our stuff to the airport again, three hours before the flight, go through check-in and everything, on the off-chance that three people don't show up.
"That's stressful in itself."
If I don't laugh, I will cry. Yesterday I was just crying all day.
Tia said they eventually managed to get home late on February 20, but they had initially been told they faced waiting until February 23 due to the chaos of Storm Eunice, which killed at least 16 people across Europe, including four in the UK.
Friday's gales, which grounded hundreds of flights, are believed to be the highest ever recorded in England at a mighty 122mph.
"My partner is a reception teacher and he had to contact the headteacher and let him know. It's a nightmare," she added.
"We were in Fuerteventura so we obviously only packed summer clothes
and then we were in 8C weather in dresses and sandals with no money, no clothes.
"If I don't laugh, I will cry. Yesterday I was just crying all day."
RYANAIR APOLOGY
A Ryanair spokesperson told The Sun: "Due to Storm Eunice, this flight from Fuerteventura to Manchester (February 18) diverted to Bordeaux.
"Overnight accommodation was provided for all affected customers and a new flight was scheduled for the following morning (February 19) from Bordeaux to Manchester.
"The details of this flight were communicated to passengers at the airport, however an email with an incorrect flight time was subsequently communicated and a small number of passengers missed this flight.
"Affected passengers were provided with an extra night’s accommodation in Bordeaux and a new flight was arranged for these passengers, who departed for Manchester on February 20.
"Ryanair sincerely apologises to those affected."
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